An exhibition of zodiac (生肖) sculptures,     1     (call) Peak Life and Water, opened in Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province on Saturday.

The 12 zodiac signs are     2     (traditional) used in Chinese culture to mark each year. Each zodiac sign also corresponds to twelve hours in the day. In addition     3     the traditional calendar function, the 12 zodiac signs are also a kind of folk custom and culture,     4     reflects Chinese people’s understanding of the year.

Each sculpture     5     (base) on a single zodiac animal. For example, the tiny golden birds     6     (stand) on the head of an ox remind visitors of birds settling on an ox, chewing the worms they have just captured. In another, a monkey balances     7     golden peach on the head. For the dragon sculpture, a golden and glorious ball floats in front of the intimidating dragon.

The expressions of these zodiac sculptures are vivid but calm. Some of them seem to be resting, content in their mediation. Only the snake has     8     (it) eyes open. If you see a snake’s eyes are closed, that     9     (mean) it is in hibernation (冬眠). The elegant and exquisite modelling has delighted visitors so much that even before the opening ceremony of the exhibition, some collectors expressed a desire     10     (buy) the sculptures.

Incense (香) is material that releases fragrant (芳香的)smoke when burnt. Yang Jinqing, an inheritor of Qingyuan traditional incense making, has a burning desire     1    (develop) popular fragrances. For decades, Yang has committed himself     2     the traditional incense craft in Qingyuan,     3     was named a national intangible cultural heritage by the State Council in June 2021.

The country boasts a profound incense history     4     (date) back to before the Qin Dynasty. The craft and its culture thrived during the Song Dynasty. It found wider     5     (popular) during the Ming and Qing dynasties when it was used to fend off diseases, insects, mosquitoes and preserve people’s health.

Qingyuan saw many incense workshops set up during the Song Dynasty, thanks to its close geographical location to abundant herbal resources     6    (hide) in the Taihang Mountains.

Nowadays, with the     7    (increasing) expanding market, more than 50,000 people     8    (engage) in the incense business in more than 500 local incense businesses.

Yang Jinqing has helped to establish an engineering center for herbal incense in Hubei that specializes in studying ancient recipes     9     developing new crafts based on the fragrance. “We might think incense culture is very elegant and, therefore, far away from us, but it is actually very close to our lives.” he says. “When drinking tea, playing chess, reading or writing,     10    (light) an incense stick can help calm the nerves and concentrate the mind.”

“I want future generations to appreciate the charm of China’s incense culture and craft.” he adds.

Architect Kéré won the Pritzker Prize, the world’s highest recognition in building design. “The 56-year-old Kéré     1     (honor) on Tuesday for his pioneering designs,” said Tom Pritzker, who is the chairman of the Hyatt Foundation. He added, “The architect’s     2     (work) are sustainable to Earth and its inhabitants.” Kéré is a citizen of both Burkina Faso and Germany and lives in Berlin. He said he was     3     happiest man on the planet to become the 51st recipient of the famous yearly prize. Kéré is     4     (know) for building schools. health centers, housing and other public places across Africa. He is     5     (equal) an architect and a servant,     6     (improve) the lives and experiences of countless citizens in a region of the world that is at times forgotten.

Kéré won special praise     7     his 2001 project to build a primary school in Gando, the village where he was born. Unlike traditional school buildings, which use concrete, Keré’s     8     (create) design combines local clay and cement (水泥)     9     (form）bricks. The material helps keep the building cool in the hot environment. A wide metal roof protects the building from rain     10     helps air flow. The success of the project lies in the creation of an extension, a library and teachers’ housing in later years.

China’s accumulated experience in reducing food loss and waste is being shared with the world. This knowledge will help many countries improve their ability    1     (reduce) food loss and ensure food security, experts and officials said.

About 14 percent of the world’s food is lost during from    2    (produce) to retail (零售). Reducing that loss by 1 percentage point would be equal to a 28 million metric ton increase in grain output,     3    could feed 70 million people for a year. This is according to the State of Food and Agriculture 2019 report released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

According to the FAO, over 155 million people experienced serious food insecurity in 2020, the    4    (high) number in the past five years. This was caused by conflict, extreme weather events and economic shocks    5    (relate) to COVID-19.

Wu Laping,     6    professor at China Agricultural University’s College of Economics and Management, said food loss and waste is    7    (large) affected by economic development. They noted that    8    (develop) countries lose food mainly before it is retailed, whereas developed countries mainly lose it after retail.

    9    example, food loss and waste mostly occurs in harvesting and storage in Africa and South Asia. Up to 30 percent of food loss was found during farmers’ storage in some areas in Africa, and 21 percent of food in the United States    10    (waste) during daily consumption, Wu told Economic Daily.